Jaime Lopez Sanchez

We present a small, compact and low-power electronic instrumentation for a point-of-care (PoC) device for the early diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and associated risk factors. The presented system consists of a low-power 4-channel potentiostat, a transducer with 4 separate electrochemical cells featuring different biosensors, and a low-cost printed battery. The system is designed to measure key parameters on diabetes mellitus analysis, such as: glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides. It has been designed as a disposable device using a single blood drop to quantify these parameters, enhancing disposition decision time and improving patient satisfaction when compared with current analytical methodology. The electronic instrumentation has been designed to simultaneously control and read the measurement of the 4 different sensors on the transducer block/chip. In this paper, we present the previous evaluation of the system through different cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry analysis compared with a commercial multichannel potentiostat 1030B from CH Instruments. The system presents accurate and reliable performance powered by a printed electrochemical battery.

We present a small, compact and portable envisaged lab-on-a-chip (LoC) device for point-of-care (PoC) detection of different key parameters on diabetes mellitus analysis; glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and hematocrit. These four parameters, present in blood samples, are important in the standardized analysis affecting different patients with different medical conditions. The quantification of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and hematocrit it is performed with a single disposable device using a single blood drop, enhancing disposition decision time and improving patient satisfaction when compared with actual analytical methodology, and it is an easy to use device and no skilled personnel is needed to use it, avoiding the use of more complicated processes like phlebotomy. The presented device consists of a custom sensing system, low power electronic instrumentation and an easy user interpretation readout display, powered by a single battery.

A novel piezoelectric harvester-based self-powered adaptive solution with wireless data transmission capability for structural health monitoring is presented. This work demonstrates the accomplishment of maximum power transferred condition for a wide range load conditions and for different amplitudes and frequencies oscillation of the piezoelectric transducer. The characterization of the wireless transmission of temperature and open voltage circuit of the piezoelectric transducer is also presented to support the use of this solution as a wireless self-powered adaptive structural health monitor solution.

The acquisition of both transversal and specific competences cannot be achieved using conventional methodologies. New methodologies must be applied that promote the necessary competences for proper professional development. Interdisciplinary projects can be a suitable tool for competence-based learning. A priori, this might be complicated, as subjects are traditionally studied at the university level in isolated compartments, with a fragmented structure. Taking advantage of the creation of new degree programs in Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Engineering and Industrial Automation, in the 2010-11 academic year we decided to add an interdisciplinary project (IP) to our teaching methodology. The importance of this project lies in the fact that it requires the participation of all the courses in all the academic years in the degree program. The present article explains the methodology used in the interdisciplinary project and how it was implemented in the first year of the Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Engineering and Industrial Automation degree programs. Furthermore, an evaluation is conducted of all four years of the interdisciplinary project, revealing the main problems with its execution and how they have been addressed.

This manuscript presents a Piezoelectric Harvester based on a novel analog control unit to assures a maximum power transmission. Also in this paper it is presented a study of the transferred power between the piezoelectric generator and a load based on data obtained by simulation and experimentally. In addition, results of experimental test of the system for its application as Structural Health Monitoring is presented.

This paper proposes a low-cost true self-powered start-up and control circuitry for an envisaged system based on commercial vibration energy harvesting sources, that is oriented to structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. The proposed circuitry is quite simple and assures a battery less system just working with piezoelectrical generators. This architecture works looking for the maximum mechanical to electrical efficiency conversion, thanks to a continuous check of the open-load voltage at the piezoelectric generator, disconnecting it from the electronic circuitry, defining a true adaptive control unit. Also it is addressed the cold-start of the system. Initial experimental results are provided to verify its performance.

The purpose of this work is to contribute to reflection on the strategies for faculty professional development that promote a culture of scholarly and systematic innovation in engineering education. This paper presents the results of implementing a professional development proposal for engineering professors based on developing their teaching competencies and discusses their relative effectiveness.

Nowadays industrial processes imply a complexity in technical procedures in which there is an integration of miscellaneous disciplines. This leads to the need of using dynamic working methods and consequently, interdisciplinary team-work is a must. Undoubtedly, universities cannot afford to keep aside from this global framework. The present paper aims to introduce a multidisciplinary project in Industrial Engineering studies integrated in the above-mentioned technical and industrial framework. The core of this project consists of self-managed teams of students from first year of both the Electronic Engineering and the Mechanical Engineering Degrees.

Manipulating in the micro- or even nano world still poses a great challenge to robotics. Conventional (stationary) systems suffer from drawbacks regarding integration into process supervision and multi-robot approaches, which become highly relevant to fight scaling effects. This paper describes work currently being carried out which aims to make automated manipulation of micrometer-scaled objects possible by robots with nanometer precision. The goal is to establish a small cluster of (up to five) micro robots equipped with on-board electronics, sensors and wireless power supply. Power autonomy has been reached using inductive energy transmission from an external wireless power supply system or a battery based system. Electronics requirements are fulfilled in the electronic module with the full custom integrated circuit design for the robot locomotion control and the closed loop force control for AFM tool in cell manipulation applications. The maximum velocity obtained i s about 0.4 mm/s with a saw tooth voltage signals of 20Vpp and 2500 Hz. In order to keep a AFM tool on micro-robot a specific tip with integrated piezoresistance, instead of the classical laser beam methodology, is validated for force measurement

Micromanipulation is an appreciated and powerful method to modify biological material. By injecting DNA or specific liquids into a biological cell, designated reactions or behaviors can be provoked. The aim of this paper is to describe three components of a fully automated opticonsisting of a micro-robot cluster with an integrated micro-fluidic SyringeChip. The electronic system, microfluidic Syringe-Chip, and infrared communication are the components that have been built and are ready for integration into a MiCRoN robot. The concept of a biological cell manipulation with the aid of the integrated sub-systems is being presented here. The first injection experiment is done after completion of the MiCRoN robot-cluster.